Time For Change Kitchen

I created this recipe for my dear friend, author Nora Percival, who died on Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago at the age of 102. Having left Russia as a small child, she still yearned for foods she enjoyed as a girl. This recipe for Creamy Ukranian Borscht was a big hit with Nora in her waning years, so I made it for her often. What I never dreamed is that it would become a favorite dish in my family.

Creamy Ukranian Borscht is delicious any time of the year, especially when fresh beets are in season. I prefer to eat this soup when it’s hot, but it is excellent served chilled or at room temperature. Loaded with antioxidants, there is nothing but good food in this recipe, so you may enjoy it with guilt-free abandon!

Misir Wot is one of the spiciest of all the vegan Ethiopian dishes. It is served with injera, a sour flat-bread native to Ethiopia. The spiciness of Misir Wot is tempered by the injera, so it doesn’t seem quite so hot when you eat it. I am often disappointed when I go to Ethiopian restaurants to find they’ve reduced the heat level in Misir Wot to cater to milder American palates. I so enjoy the range of flavors and piquancy found in authentic family-style Ethiopian dinners, where a number of stews are served on the same plate. Whatever your level of comfort, you can adjust the beberé in this recipe to suit your tastes.

I love cornbread and the spicier the better! This recipe contains fresh corn, crushed red peppers, is 100% whole grain, and has no animal protein whatsoever! I like to serve this with Cajun Blackeyed Peas as southern comfort food with a kick. If you are not a fan of spicy food, then leave the peppers out and make a milder form of this delicious whole grain recipe. I make a small exception to my no oil policy in this recipe. I use just a teaspoon of olive oil to grease the hot frying pan before adding the batter and moving it to a hot oven. This creates the crispy crust for which southern cornbread is known.

Nothing beats the flavor, color, and texture of homemade Fermented Vegetables.This recipe makes approximately a gallon, which is enough to last me and my husband for a year. I usually make a second batch to give away as gifts. These are fantastic as a condiment or as an ingredient in sandwiches. Make these yourself and you’ll never buy fermented vegetables again!

This Rainbow Burger isn’t a burger at all. It is a sandwich layered with soft sweet vegetables (and a fruit) then topped with crunchy sour fermented veggies. The juxtaposition of sweet and sour, crunchy and soft results in an explosion of exciting flavors your taste buds won’t soon forget. I have won over the most vegan-resistant carnivores with this surprisingly delicious sandwich.

Marinated beets are a delicious way to enjoy beets. Let them rest for two or three hours or overnight so they can absorb the flavors of the marinade. Then toss them into salads, or serve as a cold side. My favorite way of eating marinated beets is in my Rainbow Burger, which isn’t a burger at all, it’s a vegetable sandwich that will change the way you think about veggies! I’ve converted many a carnivore with this delicious recipe. While this recipe may take some time before it is ready to eat, it is really easy to make and requires little effort. It will keep about a week in your fridge.

Beets are notoriously long-cooking vegetables. While they still can take some time in your Instant Pot, the good news is you can walk away from them while they are cooking rather than having to stand over the stove monitoring their progress. A stovetop pressure cooker may cook the beets faster. In my WMF Pressure Cooker, it only takes 15 minutes and a quick release. However, you cannot leave a stovetop pressure cooker unattended. Cooking whole beets in a saucepan can take an hour of constant monitoring, though you can reduce that time by peeling and cutting the beets into slices or chunks. The Instant Pot makes preparing beets a no-brainer, even if it is a bit longer process.

Cajun Black-eyed Peas is a southern dish I absolutely love. It is sometimes called “Hoppin’ John” though I never heard it called by that name until I reached adulthood even though I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast close to the Louisiana border. Go figure. Blackeyed peas and collard greens are traditionally served in the south, particularly in Louisiana, on New Year’s Day for good luck, but they are great to enjoy year round!

Many of the best Cajun dishes were born out of the need to feed a lot of people on a small budget. There were thirteen in my family, and this healthy, delicious dish satisfied the appetites of eleven growing children. It continues to be a favorite in my home, even though there are just the two of us.

I’ve made this recipe healthier by removing the ham hocks or sausage that was an integral part of the original recipe. I’ve also added greens at the end to boost its nutritional content. It is typically a spicy dish, but you can certainly control the spice to suit your palate.

Cajun Black-eyed Peas can be served over cornbread, which is my favorite way to enjoy this dish, or over rice. Either way, it is bound to become a family favorite in no time.

New England Clamless Chowder Whether or not you are a fan of clam chowder, if you are a fan of decadently creamy potatoes and are craving comfort food, this is a dish you will love. It doesn’t have the fishy taste of clams, but the shitake mushrooms provide...

You don’t have to give up your favorite comfort foods just because you’ve gotten animal protein out of your diet. I have fed these amazingly decadent calzones to numerous of my carnivorous friends and acquaintances, and everyone has loved them. Most recently, I took a couple over to my veterinarian and his nurse to thank them for taking such good care of my geriatric kitty. He texted me effusively, “Thank You!!!! Yum!!!” You’ll receive equal praise when you serve up these satisfying, delicious treats to your friends and loved ones.

This quick and easy recipe takes only a couple of minutes to put together and only thirty minutes of simmering before it is ready to enjoy. Great as a dipping sauce for calzones, it is also a perfect light sauce for most pasta dishes.

I wish I could take credit for this recipe. Frankly, I have no idea where it came from. It has been in my recipe files for years, and I do not know who created it. However, it is such an integral part to making so many delicious recipes that I feel the need to share it without the attribution this recipe so richly deserves. Simple to make, this quick and easy recipe will become a favorite in no time!

LeAnne Campbell, Author of The China Study Cookbook, shared with me a recipe for chocolate ice-cream that has become a favorite in my household. This creamy soft-serve style ice cream is made from frozen bananas and takes only a few minutes to make. If you let the bananas thaw a little (as I did in the video), you don’t even need to add the plant-based milk. The pecans are just a bonus. If you don’t care for them, leave them out or fold in your favorite berries, like fresh strawberries, raspberries, or cherries. YUM!

This versatile ricotta cheese recipe takes only five minutes to make and is an incredible substitute for the real thing. With only four ingredients, this vegan cheese whips together in seconds in a Cuisinart food processor. If you don’t have this handy kitchen gadget, no worries. You can merely smash it with a fork to achieve the same results. Use this delightful “cheese” in just about any Italian dish. I particularly like it as a base for layering vegetables in a veggie calzone. However, it is just as satisfying as a stuffing for pasta shells, ravioli, cannelloni and as layers in lasagna. Use it in just about any way you would use traditional ricotta cheese. If you prefer to exchange oregano, thyme or another herb for the basil, go for it. Or use no herbs at all for dishes where you just want the cheese.

Growing up in the South, my family sprinkled turnip and collard greens with this delightful, vinegary pepper sauce. It brightens green vegetables and adds to them a delightful spicy backdrop. Spice up vegan mayonnaise and other spreads with a condiment that is simple to prepare and lasts for months in your fridge.

Vietnamese Banh Mi is a hearty, delicious sandwich that combines crispy and soft elements with spicy and fragrant. Vietnam retains some of the culinary influences of the French colonization of the country, which explains why this amazing sandwich is served between layers of a crispy French baguette. Some of the requisites of the dish are that it must contain sliced cucumbers, some kind of meat filling, a layer of sweet and sour pickled daikon and carrots, a layer of jalepeño peppers, and finally topped with fresh cilantro.

Typically, when this recipe is veganized, the meat is replaced with tofu, either fried or soft. In my version, I am fusing the traditional Vietnamese elements with a spicy flavor-packed Ethiopian sautéed mushroom and onion dish called Ingudai Tibs. The combination of the two is fantastic.! You may, of course, tone down the spice if you prefer a milder taste but for you spice lovers out there, this will knock your socks off!

While, admittedly, this is not a whole food recipe (since all-purpose flour is highly processed), I make this recipe exclusively to use in my Vietnamese-Ethiopian Bahn Mi fusion sandwich. This sandwich is over-filled with nothing but whole food ingredients, which I feel mitigates the use of all-purpose flour in the bread while allowing an authentic Bahn Mi experience. I have discovered since creating this recipe, you can substitute 200 grams of the all-purpose flour with 100% whole wheat pastry flour to get some whole grain into the mix without sacrificing the crunch and airiness of real French bread.

This recipe was taught to me by a new friend, Anayansi Mong from Panama. Of course, I can’t try a recipe without adding my own variations to it, so this is my version. It is nearly the same. I cut the mustard back to one tablespoon from three. Anna uses yellow mustard, and I use dijon whole grain mustard. I also contributed the roasted red pepper and carrot. I threw in a few Medjool dates to cut a little of the tartness of the vinegar. Both versions are good. Use whichever you prefer.

I added the mild red pepper in an effort to tone the recipe down a bit. My first attempt to make it was entirely too spicy. If you want blow-your-head-off heat, leave in the seeds and use a very hot pepper. These are serranos, but you can use any hot pepper you like.

These deliciously sweet and sour pickles add flavor and crunch to any meal. They are an essential ingredient in the Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwich and are an excellent condiment for just about any occasion.

Abiye Bisrat is the owner and executive chef of Enat Ethiopian Restaurant, in Alexandria, Virginia. Enat (meaning “Mother”) is one of our favorite places to find authentic Ethiopian food in the DC area. We never leave DC without being sure to enjoy one of their thoroughly satisfying plant-based meals. Abiye was kind enough to prepare our favorite dish for us, Inguday Tibs, which are delicious sautéed mushrooms.

Learning how to sauté vegetables without oil is a liberating endeavor. It will spare the precious endothelium cells of your arteries from damage and protect your waistline from expanding too! It simply isn’t necessary to use oil when sautéing vegetables. This demonstration applies to sautéing vegetables like bell peppers, garlic, ginger, celery, and the like.

Who says you can't make a light whole grain pancake? These pancakes are melt-in-your-mouth light and delicious. They also have no additional oil, just the healthy kind found naturally in whole nuts. Whole wheat pastry flour adds fiber and creates a lighter pancake...

Once you've learned to make whole grain rice, you'll never touch white rice again. Sure, it takes a bit longer to cook but the nutty flavor and high antioxidants make it so worthwhile! Whole grain rice is simple to prepare and even easier in the Instant Pot. Just...

This elegant little dessert comes together in minutes if you have cranberry chutney and cashew cream cheese on hand. If not, you can make the chutney in a total of thirty-five minutes from start to finish and the cashew cream cheese in about five. They should be...

This delicious, cranberry chutney is 100% whole – no added oil, no salt, no sugar – just a healthy party in your mouth! It cooks for only 3 minutes in your Instant Pot. With time to come to pressure and to naturally release, it is ready to serve in about 20 minutes...

The pumpkin season is over so quickly; we should make the most of it while it lasts. This gorgeous recipe is as much a treat for the eye as it is for the palate, and your taste buds will not be disappointed! The sweetness of this little sugar pumpkin, also called a...

Adding a touch of spice to Basmati rice adds a little something extra to Indian dishes. Most restaurants and indeed most Indian chefs I know serve white rice with their meals. I prefer the health benefits of whole grains, so I go for brown or red rice every time....

This gorgeous dish will make an impression at a dinner table. It is so jam-packed with marvelous flavors, textures, and aromas that your guests will not even realize they are eating healthy! This delicious recipe was taught to me by one of the chefs at Mint Cuisine of...

This recipe for cashew cream cheese is ubiquitous throughout the plant-based community. It is so easy to prepare, and you can use it to create a variety of unrelated dishes. I keep a bowl of this in my fridge at all times. You can thin it with a little water to make a...

Zuppa Toscana – Healthy, Delicious Tuscan Soup Tuscan Soup, or Zuppa Toscana, is not just a healthy, power-packed bowl of antioxidants, it is beyond delicious! With its bounty of protective phytonutrients, Zuppa Toscana is the very thing to warm you against the...

If you want to make a delicious soup, you have to start with a soup base or a broth that is so flavorful it will stand on its own. In order to do that we have to concentrate the flavor of vegetables in some way. In this case, we are going to roast them to the point that they are lightly caramelized which intensifies their flavor without destroying the integrity of the vegetables. Then we will extract those flavors by adding water and briefly simmering them until the vegetables are just translucent.

One of the meals I’ve missed in the six-plus years since adopting a whole foods plant-based lifestyle is a Chinese dish called Spicy Orange Beef. I have come spectacularly close to recreating it with this recipe featuring soy curls.

This Barbecue Jackfruit recipe will have your most plant-resistant carnivorous friends amazed they are not actually eating barbecue pulled pork! Simple to make, this recipe comes together in less than twenty minutes.

A good barbecue sauce makes becoming plant-based an easier endeavor. You can prepare a wide variety of dishes with this sauce that make you forget you aren’t eating meat. Added to veggie burger ingredients, it gives them a sweet and savory flavor with a hint of heat.

For a burger bun, you want bread that is soft and gives when you bite into it. Harder bread squeezes the ingredients of your sandwich out the sides, creating a big, albeit often delicious, mess. This is an excellent bun for veggie burgers, BBQ sandwiches, and more!

These pitas are 100% whole grain, hearty, and delicious. They also freeze very well, so make a bunch so you’ll have them on hand. To defrost, just stick them in your microwave on high for 30 seconds to one minute.

Who can say no to savory baked falafel? Not me, that’s for sure. You can serve them as the main attraction of a meal, as part of a salad, or as the filling for a falafel pita sandwich, which is my favorite use for them.

I thought I’d never have delicious yogurt and fruit smoothies once I gave up animal protein. I just don’t like the store bought stuff. Now yogurt is back on my table! Make smoothies, sauces, and add it to stews; it does anything dairy yogurt does without harming our health, environment and our animal friends. Try it; it will be the easiest dish you’ll ever make!

Who needs beef when a stew made from fresh vegetables can be this rich and flavorful? With generous chunks of potatoes, carrots, and portobello mushrooms, this decadent comfort food promises to sustain you through the chilliest of winter nights.

Well, I’ve finally done it! After three years of experimentation, I’ve come up with a foolproof Ethiopian injera recipe that is quick and easy. If you are craving Ethiopian food and have some sourdough starter on hand, this is a bread you can create from start to finish in as little as 20 minutes.

Learning to make a good sourdough starter is a liberating experience. You can keep it in your fridge for years, literally a hundred years, if you can remember to feed it twice a month and protect it from unfriendly bacteria by keeping your containers scrupulously...

High on my bucket list has been a desire to meet, and possibly share a kitchen with Chef Del Sroufe, who has achieved many milestones in the plant-based world. He has owned his own vegan bakery, co-founded (with Dr. Pam Popper) the highly respected plant-based...

Our friend, vegan super-middleweight boxing champion, Omowale Adewale, is always looking for new ways to engage his children, Rayne, Aziza and Chi, in the kitchen. Danielle created these videos to teach them how to make summer rolls with a...

This is a deliciously flavorful way to eat potatoes. I first tried this dish at a fantastic Indian/Sri Lankan restaurant called, Dosa Garden, in Staten Island, NY. I was so smitten by the flavors, I hounded the owner/chef to share the recipe with me. He gave me the general ingredients and this is the version I came up with. I think it comes pretty darned close.